1. Field of the Invention
The invention describes a method and devices for applying RFID chips with integrated antennas to packages, preferably retail packages for end consumers. Another object of the invention consists of devices which can be used to apply chips and which can be used in any desired stages of package production.
2. Description of Prior Art
RFID is the term used to designate methods for the automatic identification of objects by radio. The use of RFID systems is suitable in principle wherever it is necessary to label, to detect, to record, to store, to monitor, or to transport objects automatically. Many different variants of RFID systems are offered. In spite of the large bandwidth of RFID solutions, all RFID systems are defined by the following three properties:
1. Electronic Identification: The system makes it possible to identify objects uniquely by means of electronically stored data.
2. Contactless Data Transmission: For identification of the object, the data can be read out in wireless fashion over a radio frequency channel.
3. On-Call Transmission: A labeled object transmits its data only when a reader intended for this purpose initiates the process.
From a technical point of view, an RFID system consists of two components, namely, a transponder and a reader. The transponder—also called the “tag”—functions as the actual data storage medium. It is attached to an object (such to a commercial product or to a package) or integrated into an object (e.g., into a chip card), and the data in it can be read out by the use of radio technology without contact. Depending on the technology, data can also be written to it. The transponder consists basically of an integrated circuit and a radio frequency module. On the transponder, an identification number and additional data pertaining to the transponder itself or to the object to which it is attached are stored.
Current RFID technology is based on so-called “smart labels”, which are glued onto the packaging. These labels have proved reliable in the logistics of large items but are not suitable for application to retail packages. First, smart labels are very expensive because of the expensive and complicated processes need to produce them. The end price for an applied label is in the range of 0.25-1.00. When these costs are put into relationship with the actual cost of producing a retail package, it can be seen that such smart labels can pay for themselves only when they are used for very expensive and complicated goods in the end-consumer area. But even here, the manufacturers of these packaged goods are hesitating to use these labels because of their high cost.
Another aspect which argues against the use of smart labels on retail packages is the fact that the retail package has not only a protective but also a marketing function. Because a smart label is glued on afterwards, it is difficult to integrate it into the packaging design and cheapens the image of the product in the consumer's eyes.
The use of RFID technology for consumer safety and tracking in the area of pharmaceuticals and food products and as a security element for high-value goods therefore necessitates a significant cost reduction versus the current technology of the smart label. As the production chain for the production of smart labels shows, this can be achieved only in part by the development of lower-cost chips. A large percentage of the overall cost is attributable to the very complex fabrication structure of today's smart label.
A first approach toward lowering the cost for retail packaging consists in printing the antenna directly onto the folding box and in bonding, stitching, or attaching in some other way the chip required for the RIFD function to the antenna structure in a subsequent step. It is true that costs can be lowered considerably by the reduction of the carrier material and the low-cost printing of the antenna structure, but the process of applying the chip is still very complicated, because the chip, which is very small, must be attached with high precision to the contacts of the antenna. The contact between the chip and the antenna must also remain ensured through the entire life cycle of the product. The contacts, however, are always subject to the danger of malfunction, which can be caused during the application of the chip, during exposure to flexural stresses during transport of the folding box, or during the process of filling the folding box.
A remedy is offered by chips into which the antenna has already been integrated. These chips represent a single structural unit; that is, the problem associated with the two-stage production of an RFID tag on a folding box, namely, first the printing of the antenna and then the bonding of the chip to the antenna, is eliminated. Contacts cannot come loose, and there is no longer any need for highly precise positioning of the chip. Through the use of such chips with integrated antenna, integration is possible even at high processing speeds during the multi-stage process of folding box production, because the job of aligning the chip precisely during the application process as required in the two-stage production process lowers the processing speed considerably. Chips with their own integrated antennas can therefore be easily integrated into a folding box, because the positioning requirements are very low. The chip simply must be present; the requirements on the position and orientation of the chip, as in the case of the two-stage production process, no longer apply. Transponder chips with an antenna integrated into the chip are also described today by the technical term “coil-on-chip”.
Another advantage of chips with an integrated antenna is the small size of the overall RFID element (chip plus antenna) when the chip and the antenna are integrated into a single component. This small size makes it possible to integrate the element in a way which suits the design of the decoration on the folding box, but in addition it also becomes possible to integrate the element in an area of the folding box which, for space reasons, would not be possible for the larger RFID smart label. Concealed integration, which is desirable in many cases precisely for merchandise security reasons, is therefore easier to realize. The disadvantage of these chips with integrated antennas are the short reading ranges which they offer. For this reason, these chips are suitable primarily for applications in merchandise security, because they make it possible to identify product packages uniquely. By increasing the integration density, applications in logistics will also be possible in the future, such as in inventory control on department store shelves or in the handling of payment processes.
In the following, a typical production process for a folding box is described. For the production of a folding box, several panels are usually printed on a sheet of cardboard. This printed sheet is then usually varnished to protect it from abrasion, to improve its appearance, and to increase the quality of the final finish. The varnish can be applied in the varnishing unit of a printing press or outside the printing press in a separate varnishing machine. Then the printed sheet can be subjected to several finishing steps such as an embossing process. After the last finishing step on the entire sheet, the folding box panels are punched in a sheet-punching unit to create the individual panels or folding box sections. Simultaneously with or immediately after the punching process, the creases which make it possible to fold the box are introduced. The individual folding boxes are then separated in a break-out device or by hand, and the waste parts of the sheet are removed simultaneously. The individual folding box panels or folding box sections are then formed into a finished folding box in a gluing machine. For this purpose, glue is applied to one or more glue tabs of the folding box section or panel, and then the folding box is folded over a belt guide in such a way that the glue tab comes in contact with the inside surface of the opposite section of the folding box and is thus bonded to it. The effectiveness of the gluing step is usually assisted by the use of a pressing unit to increase the contact between the glue tab and the opposite side.